Disappointment, vegans are an afterthought.

2

Posted on 04 / 11 / 2014

Fresh Earth Restaurant is incredibly disappointing, over and over. The vegan food served in the restaurant is low quality, often doesn't taste fresh or as it was with the lentil cottage pie, it was watery and flavourless. The only vegan food on the menu worth ordering are the burgers, and even then the bread itself is worth a skip. The waiters don't know what vegan means, so when you order vegan hot chocolate you still get served cookies that contain butter and eggs. Nor do they have vegan cookies for vegan customers. It's a poor show all round, with generally overworked staff and unaccommodating owners. It feels like they just put vegan food on the menu because they felt obliged, but couldn't really be asked to make much effort. There are always lovely looking baked things standing around without any vegan alternatives and it feels like vegans are an afterthought.

The store component stocks some interesting things and I would recommend a shop there for specialty items, but they are extremely pricey and I can't really imagine that imported items are worth buying considering the high cost and carbon footprint.

I avoid this restaurant at all costs. There much are better alternatives for vegans in the 3km radius which means I will never set foot in Fresh Earth again if I can help it. I patronized the restaurant for years and they have not added more than two new vegan options in all that time. I'd much rather support establishments that are interested in ALL their customers.

Awesome

5

Posted on 01 / 02 / 2013

Fresh Earth is awesome if you are vegetarian or vegan. Everything on the menu is vegetarian, and there are just as many, if not more, vegan options. Many of the dishes are also gluten free, and they will make pretty much anything on the menu vegan or alter it to suit your intolerances. They even have a bunch of raw vegan options. I had the vegan cheese burger and the berry delicious smoothie, and both were incredible. I was there with three other people who were meat eaters, and they really enjoyed their meals. It is mostly affordable, and I feel, good value for money. Our waiter, Ian, had a good knowledge of what he was talking about, and was really good at his job. Inside there is a shop selling tons of organic/vegan/local product. My favourite were the cruelty free cosmetics, as they are difficult to find in this country sometimes. They also have some good literature on offer. I would recommend Fresh Earth to anyone.